For centuries anglers have employed live or dead bait prey to enhance their catch rates of gamefish. By using live, dead, or sundry body parts of various prey species as bait, anglers have enticed gamefish to strike their presentations. There was little scientific investigation into the reasons behind the effectiveness of these natural food sources.
More recently, the industry has sought synthetic fish attractants to reduce the costs while increasing the effectiveness and storage stability of the baits. Fish attractants have come in many different forms. Early attractants were designed as dipping solutions that adhered to the outer surface of an artificial lure. Later, the art evolved toward the use of a stimulant that was molded into the lure body. Such molded compositions released the stimulant in a more controlled rate and exhibited both higher efficacy for longer periods with better ease of use.
The use of sodium chloride in soft plastic baits dates back to at least 1981. The rationale accepted by most anglers is that fish find salt appealing, like humans. The taste of sodium chloride, the reasoning goes, causes gamefish to retain salt-containing lures for longer period. This longer retention time should result in a higher probability of setting the hook with an overall increase in the catch rate (ratio of bites to recovered fish). See, Larew U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,179.
Standard, non-iodized table salt is the common component in salted baits. It is an inexpensive component, readily understood in terms of the human taste experience, and has generated some scientific evidence that some fish species are sensitive to sodium chloride. Nonetheless, there exists a need in the art for artificial gustatory stimulants for fishing lures with an even longer retention rate.